When playing instruments of the violin family (e.g., violin, viola, cello, stringed bass), the actual tonal values created by the individual are determined by the placement of one's fingers upon the strings along the fingerboard of the instrument. As a result, misplacement of one or more fingers on the strings results in poor tonal quality or, worse, the playing of wrong notes. The process of learning to play a “fretless” instrument of the violin family is very challenging, especially for young children, as students need to learn the actual mechanics of bowing and reading music, while also remaining concerned about finger placement and tonal quality.
Various aids have been developed in the past to assist beginning players in learning the proper finger positions for the violin family of instruments. One such aid is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,023,460, issued to Horst F. Kuhnke on May 17, 1977, which describes a molded member that includes integral ridges and is affixed to the fingerboard. The ridges form an acute angle with the longitudinal axis of the fingerboard and as a result account for the difference in thickness, tension and elasticity of the lower strings as compared to these qualities of the (relatively thin) higher strings. However, as particularly illustrated in FIG. 5 of the '460 patent, the formation of such integral ridges (in the same manner as guitar frets) will necessarily interfere with the quality of sound produced and may particularly interfere with the ability to create a vibrato quality in the note. Another teaching aid, as disclosed in U.S. patent application Publication 2002/0096036, published on Jul. 25, 2002, involves the use of a visual aid of various finger patterns associated with different notes that is affixed to the fingerboard. A problem with this approach, however, is that the student must continuously look at the fingerboard to adjust his finger positions.
A preferred teaching aid would not require the need to constantly look at the fingerboard, while also not interfering with tone production, as is the case in including fret-like structures on the stringed instrument.